WASHINGTON, D.C.
— A new Senate bill should allow the economy to continue growing at the current
unprecedented pace, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association
(AILA).

The legislation,
introduced by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Spencer Abraham (R-MI), would
particularly help the professional and high-tech sectors of the U.S. economy.
The measure, sponsored by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, would
temporarily increase the cap on H-1B visas, which are available to skilled
foreign professionals who work for American companies, universities and
research institutions. The Hatch-Abraham bill is needed because the current cap
was met before the end of the last fiscal year, and is expected to be reached
even sooner this year, thereby denying U.S. companies, consumers, students and
patients the opportunity respectively to develop and purchase new products and
services, be taught by the best professors and teachers, and use new drugs and
medical therapies.

"This legislation provides a short-term
solution to the nation’s shortage of skilled professional workers. We have
often said that the H-1B cap is a cap on our economy. The bill acknowledges
that and should help the economy to continue to grow," said Jeanne Butterfield,
Executive Director of AILA.

“The bill also
addresses the legitimate concerns of some critics, by mandating that companies
which commit fraud or misrepresentations will have their H-1B visas revoked,
and the number restored to the cap,” Butterfield said. "Finally, it should help
alleviate the current employment-based immigration backlog by letting certain
H-1B visa holders who have applied for permanent resident status stay here
while their applications are being processed by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. The consequences of bureaucratic delays should not come
at the expense of these vitally needed professionals."

Other provisions
of the legislation include: exempting educational, non-profit and government
research institutions from the cap. Butterfield explained that this exemption
should ease the burden on schools, colleges and research institutions that all
too often are shut out of the temporary foreign professional market by the cap
being reached. Finally, the measure mandates a national study on the so-called
"digital divide."

"The
Hatch-Abraham bill goes a long-way to providing a limited solution to what
independent economists see as the biggest threat to our continued economic
growth: the nationwide shortage of workers. We look forward to working with
Senators Hatch and Abraham on this important legislation. We urge
Representative Lamar Smith, Chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee, to help
us ensure that our economy stays strong, by working with Representative David
Drier (R-CA) to pass a compatible bill in the House," Butterfield said.